Shoe tree



May 17, 1966 D. w. BAY 3,251,083

SHOE TREE Filed May 20, 1965 INVENTOR. $077417 14 Bay,

United States Patent O 3,251,083 SHOE TREE Donald W. Bay, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (7545 Lyndon, Detroit, Mich.) Filed May 20, 1965, Ser. No. 457,449 6 Claims. (Cl. 12--116.6)

The present invention relates to shoe trees.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a shoe tree of an improved construction.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a shoe tree of a unique and inexpensive construction. It isanother object of the present invention to provide a shoe tree of a construction having only two parts and being adjustable to accommodate shoes of different sizes.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment 'of the shoe tree of the present invention, with the shoe tree shown in assembled relation with a shoe shown in phantom;

' FIGURE 2 is a top elevational view of the shoe tree and shoe (shown in phantom) depicted in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary .view of the shoe tree of FIGURES l and 2 taken in the direction of the arrows 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of the shoe tree of FIG- URES 1 and 2 taken substantially along the line 44 in FIGURE 1 and with an alternate position of one of the parts shown in phantom; and

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view of the shoe tree of FIG- URES 1 and 2 taken substantially along the line 5-5 in FIGURE 1.

1 Looking now to the drawing, a shoe tree is shown assembled with a shoe 12, shown in. phantom. The shoe tree 10 is composed of two'parts, a toe piece 14 and a handle 16. Note that both the toe piece 14 and handle 16 are of unitary, integral constructions.

The toe piece 14 comprises a narrow channel section 18, which is connected to a relatively flexible toe section 20 by means of a flexible hinge 22. The toe section 20 is of a shape to fit snugly within the toe of a shoe and hence extends longitudinally with its width generally narrowing toward its'extremity opposite the hinge 22 and has an arcuate transverse contour. Note that the toe section 20 is of a relatively thin section and hence is flexible and can be readily bent relatively to the longitudinal axis; thus the toe section 20 by virtue of this flexibility can be used with shoes covering a substantial range in sizes and will fit snugly within the toes of these various sized shoes.

The channel section 18 is relatively narrow and gen-- erally has a channel or ribbed section as shown in FIG- URE 5. Considering the toe section 20 to be at the front, the channel section 18 has a generally Z-shaped portion 24 extending rearwardly with an upper leg portion 26 connected to the hinge 22 and a lower leg portion 28 extending rearwardly from anintermediate portion 30. A straight portion 32 extends rearwardly from the bottom portion 28 and has a pair of prongs 34 extending transversely outwardly from opposite sides near the end of the straight portion 32. As will be seen the handle 16 can be connected and disconnected from the toe piece 14 via these prongs 34.

The handle 16 has a body section 36 generally of a U channel construction defined by opposite side portions 38 and 40. As can be seen from FIGURES 1 and 3 side portions 38 and 40 are identical except for the fact that portion 38 is provided with a plurality of holes 42 which Patented May 17, 1966 are slotted open at the bottom while portion 40 is provided wit-h'holes 44 which are not slotted. Note that individual ones of the holes 42 line up with individual ones of holes 44. Both holes 42 and 44 are of a size to receive the prongs 34. By simply cocking the handle 16 (see FIGURE 4) the one of the prongs 34 can be snapped out from any of the holes 42 through its slotted opening and the other of the prongs 34 can be slipped out from the associated one of the holes 44 and the handle 16 removed from the toe piece 14. By simply reversing the the toe piece 14 with the prongs 34 located in any of the above procedure the handle 16 can be re-assembled to associated pairs of the holes 42 and 44. By this means the eflective length of the shoe tree can be changed to accommodate shoes of various lengths.

The handle 16 is provided with a handle portion 46 at the top whereby the handle 16 can be gripped and manipulated. A generally U-shaped portion 48 is located at the end of the body section 36 and is intended to engage the heel of the shoe 12. The U-shaped portion 48 provides a flexible, resilient structure which tends to conform to the heel shape and which, because of its spring action, aids in the fit of shoe tree 10 within the shoe 12.

With regard to this spring action, it should be noted that the Z-shaped portion 24 also provides flexibility and a spring action and hence also aids in the fit of the shoe tree 10 within the shoe 12. Note that the flexible hinge 22 permits the toe section 20 to pivot relative to the channel section 18; this pivotal movement permits the shoe tree 10, to more readily conform to the shape of different shoes.

Note that the connnection between prongs 34 and holes 42 and 44 permits the handle 16 to be pivoted. 'Thus in assembling the shoe tree 10 within shoe 12 the handle 16 is first pivoted rearwardly about the prongs 34. This, of course, reduces the over-all length of the shoe tree 10 and permits the toe section 20 to be located within the toe of the shoe 12. Installation is completed merely by pivoting t-hehandle 16 forwardly bringing the U-shaped portion 48 into engagement with the heel of the shoe 12. Note that the channel of the body section 36 is of a shape to matably receive the end of the straight portion 32, with frictional engagement between the two pieces aiding in holding the handle 16 from inadvertently pivoting.

With the above construction, the shoe tree 10 is adaptable to fit shoes varying substantially in size. The toe section 20 by being flexible can readily conform to various toe shapes and widths. The interconnection between the handle 16 and toe piece 14 via the prongs 34 and holes 42, 44 permit the use of the shoe tree 10 in shoes varying substantially in length. The flexible U-shaped portion 48 not only aids in providing for a snug fit of the shoe tree 10 within shoe 12 but also facilitates assembly of the tree 10 within the shoe 12 and, further, tends to conform to the shape of the heel. The Z-shaped portion 24 aids in providing for a snug fit of the shoe tree 10 within shoe 12 and the hinge 22 .by permitting the toe section 20 to pivot aids in the shoe tree 12 better accommodating shoes of different shapes.

The above described construction lends itself readily to fabrication by plastic molding and in a preferred embodirnent the shoe tree 10 is made of a tough, resilient plastic such as polypropylene. Note that the handle 16 is a one piece construction and likewise the toe piece 14 is of a one piece construction. Note that by forming the parts out of a plastic such as polypropylene the hinge 22 can be readily formed with the rest of the structure..

a change without departing from the proper scope of fair meaning of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A shoe tree comprising: a toe piece of a one-piece construction and a handle of a one-piece construction, said toe piece including a flexible toe section of a shape to -fit the toe of a shoe, :1 channel section and a flexible hingle pivotally connecting said toe and channel sections, said channel section including a flexible Z-shaped portion and a straight channel portion with said Z-shaped portion having one end connected to said hinge and its other end connected to said straight channel portion, said straight channel portion having a pair of prongs extending transversely from opposite sides, said handle comprising a U-shaped channel body section having a pair of rib portions, a handle portion connected to said body section, and a flexible, generally U-shaped portion located at the rearward end of said body section and adapted to engage the heel of the shoe, each of said rib portions having a plurality of holes with said'holes of one of said rib portions being slotted open and being in line with said holes of the other of said rib portions and with aligned pairs of said holes adapted to receive said prongs, said rib portions of said body section being of a shape to snugly, matably receive the end portion of said said straight portion.

2. A shoe tree comprising: a toe piece and a handle, said toe piece being of a one-piece construction and including a flexible toe section of a shape to fit the toe of a shoe, an end section and a flexible hinge pivotally connecting said end sections to the upper rearward edge of said toe section, and means for pivotably securing said handle to said end section of said toe piece at a plurality of positions for changing the effective length of the shoe tree.

3. A shoe tree comprising: a toe piece, said toe piece being of a one-piece construction and including a flexible toe section of a shape to fit the toe of a shoe, an end section and a flexible hinge pivotally connecting said toe and end sections, said end section including a longitudinally flexible portion and a straight portion with said flexible portion having one end connected to said hinge and its other end offset from said one end and connected to said straight portion whereby a longitudinally flexible connection is provided, said straight portion having a pair of prongs extending transversely from opposite sides, said handle comprising a body section having a pair of rib port-ions, each of said rib portions having a plurality of openings with said openings of one of said rib portions being in line with said openings of the other of said rib portions with aligned pairs of said opening adapted to receive said prongs.

4. A shoe tree comprising: a toe piece of a one-piece construction and a handle of a one-piece construction, said toe piece including a flexible toe section of a shape to fit the toe of a shoe, an end section and a flexible hinge pivotally connecting said toe and end sections, said end section including a longitudinally flexible portion and a straight portion with said flexible portion having one end connected to said hinge and its other end offset from said one end and connected to said straight portion whereby a longitudinally flexible connection is provided, and means for pivotally securing said handle to said toe piece at a plurality of positions for changing the effective length of the shoe tree, said handle comprising a body section and a flexible, generally resilient portion located at the rearward end of said body section and adapted to engage the heel of the shoe.

5. A shoe tree comprising: a toe piece being of a onepiece construction and including a flexible toe section of a shape to fit the toe of a shoe, an end section and a flexible hinge pivotally connecting said toe and end sections, said end section including a longitudinally flexible portion and a straight portion with said flexible portion having'a first end connected to said hinge and extending such as to be proximate to the upper part of the toe of the shoe and with said flexible portion having its opposite end offset from said one end and connected to said straight portion, said shoe tree further comprising a handle, and means for pivotably securing said handle to said straight portion of said end section and a plurality of positions for changing the effective length of said shoe tree.

6. The shoe tree of claim 2 in which said handle is of a one-piece construction and wherein said means permits said handle to be pivoted for installation into and removal from a shoe.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,032,597 7/1912 Funk 12-1163 1,705,198 3/1929 Moland 12--117.4 2,230,469 2/1941 Salin 12117.4 2,872,692 2/1959 Moses 121l5.8

FOREIGN PATENTS 524,625 9/1921 France.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Examiner. 

2. A SHOE TREE COMPRISING: A TOE PIECE AND A HANDLE, SAID TOE PIECE BEING OF A ONE-PIECE CONSTRUCTION AND INCLUDING A FLEXIBLE TOE SECTION OF A SHAPE TO FIT THE TOE OF A SHOE, AN END SECTION AND A FLEXIBLE HINGE PIVOTALLY CONNECTING SAID END SECTIONS TO THE UPPER REARWARD EDGE OF SAID TOE SECTION, AND MEANS FOR PIVOTABLY SECURING SAID 